DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Marie Okabe, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

I will start with a couple of statements, the first on Lebanon.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman on Lebanon

“The Secretary-General was appalled to learn of yet another assassination in Lebanon.  He strongly condemns the murder, in a bomb blast in Beirut, of Mr. George Hawi, a long-time leader of the Communist Party.

“His sympathies and condolences are with the family of the victim and, indeed, all of the people of Lebanon.  The Secretary-General stands with the Lebanese today in their determination to shape a peaceful, independent and sovereign future.

“The Secretary-General urges the Lebanese authorities to bring promptly to justice the perpetrators and the instigators of today’s callous crime and to put an end to impunity and acts of intimidation.  He calls on all concerned parties to contribute to the unity and stability in Lebanon.”

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman on the Middle East

We also have a statement attributable to the Spokesman on the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas:

“As the announced date for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the northern West Bank, 15 August 2005, approaches, the Secretary-General has been following events concerning the situation in the OccupiedPalestinianTerritory carefully.  He welcomes the meeting today between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and looks forward to evaluating the situation at the meeting of the Quartet in London later this week.”

**Secretary-General in Brussels

The Secretary-General arrived in Brussels today, one day in advance of the International Conference on Iraq.  A few hours after arrival, the Secretary-General was briefed on the preparations for the conference by Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, his Special Representative for Iraq.

Later in the evening, he will attend an official dinner for the conference participants, hosted by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso.  The Secretary-General is expected to deliver the opening and closing remarks at the conference tomorrow.  On the sidelines of the conference, he is expected to hold a series of bilateral meetings with a number of other conference participants.

**Iraq - Arrears

Also on Iraq, the Secretary-General this morning sent a letter to the President of the Security Council informing them of his intention, subject to the Council’s concurrence, to transfer the amount of some $220 million from the escrow account set up under the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission for Iraq, known as UNMOVIC.  Some $200 million would be transferred to the Development Fund for Iraq, bearing in mind the resources required to be retained in the account for UNMOVIC.

The balance of some $20 million, the Secretary-General says in the letter, would be credited against Iraq’s arrears in its contributions to the UN regular budget, peacekeeping operations and tribunal activities.

**Iraq – Schools

Also on Iraq, nearly half a million children in that country will benefit from upgraded sanitation facilities at schools across the country this year, thanks to a UN-backed effort to improve conditions at some 800 schools.  Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Iraq, said that protecting schoolchildren and enabling them to receive an education is “the best possible investment in the future development of a stable and peaceful Iraq”.  There’s a press release with more details upstairs.

**Security Council

Here in UN Headquarters, the Security Council is currently holding a meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.  Briefing the Council this morning, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said that key challenges in that area involved addressing displacement and the needs of children, as well as ensuring humanitarian access and the safety and security of humanitarian personnel.  He said that sexual violence was one of his biggest concerns, because of its scale, prevalence and profound impact.

To better protect civilians, Egeland said the world must fight impunity by supporting the International Criminal Court and strengthening national judicial systems; include the protection of civilians in all peacekeeping mandates; strengthen engagement with regional and intergovernmental organizations; and improve humanitarian funding.

Egeland will go to the stakeout when the meeting breaks up, at approximately 1:15 p.m.  The Council is also expected to make a presidential statement on this subject.

Prior to the meeting on civilians and armed conflict, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Liberia, by which it decided to renew sanctions on diamonds for further six months, and urged Liberia’s National Transitional Government to work harder to establish authority over diamond-producing areas.

**Sudan

Turning to Sudan, the UN Mission in Khartoum reports that banditry activities and looting, including armed attacks, continued to be reported in Darfur.  The mission also says that non-governmental organizations still continue to face difficulties in certain areas of the Darfurs.  It also reported an attack in eastern Sudan that was repelled by the Sudanese army.  UN commercially rented trucks carrying food were in the area during the incident.

The Mission reports that the fourth round of a polio vaccination campaign was completed in the three Darfur States.

**Haiti

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, is scheduled to leave tomorrow for Haiti, to visit the UN Mission there and consult with senior leadership on the ground.  He will return to New York on Sunday.

**Afghanistan

On Afghanistan, the UN mission there today welcomed the news that a number of candidates for legislative and provincial elections are handing in their weapons, answering a call made by the country’s electoral authorities.

The UN mission joins the Afghan Government and the electoral authorities in appealing to all those candidates who still possess weapons and ammunition to hand them in voluntarily at designated collection points.  That step, the Mission says, would be a major contribution to restoring peace in Afghanistan.

**Secretary-General’s Speech at Center for Strategic and International Studies

The Secretary-General, before departing for Brussels last night, spoke to the international councillors of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, here in New York, and he told them that this September’s summit represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the United Nations.  “If we miss it this time, I don’t know when they are going to get the opportunity again”, he said.

The Secretary-General said that an expanded Security Council with a broader membership would allow the Council to be more democratic.  At the same time, he said, he has made concrete proposals for renewing the UN architecture, by which we should be willing and able to abolish institutions that are no longer required, such as the Trusteeship Council.  We have copies of the speech as delivered upstairs.

**General Assembly

Finally, here again at UN Headquarters on the General Assembly.

The General Assembly Spokesman’s Office says the General Assembly is conducting its first informal meeting of the plenary today, and possibly tomorrow, on the draft outcome document of the September summit, which General Assembly President Jean Ping submitted to Member States in early June.  The meeting is closed to the media.  We have a list of speakers upstairs.

Later in the week, the General Assembly will hold informal interactive hearings with civil society representatives, as part of the preparations for the September summit.  Approximately 200 civil society organizations are registered to take part in these hearings, which consist of plenary meetings and interactive round-table sessions focusing on the four theme clusters of the Secretary General’s “In Larger Feedom” report.

Jean Ping is scheduled to have a press briefing tomorrow at 2:30, with a civil society representative, to give a preview of the NGO hearings, and also to give an early assessment of the consultations today and tomorrow on his draft outcome document.  Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information will moderate that briefing.

Our media advisory is available on tomorrow’s press briefing and on the NGO hearings.

That’s all I have for you.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  On the blast in Lebanon, will the Security Council meet again and issue a presidential declaration?  Will you also have another investigation?  Also, is the Secretary-General going to send his Special Envoy again to the region.  What will happen?  Mr. [Detlev] Mehlis is there, and also the other investigators from the commission.  What is going to happen?

Associate Spokesperson:  We have to ask the Security Council President what their plans are.  Right now, as you know, they’re in an open meeting, so I don’t think there is a chance to have consultations on this subject.  We’ll have to ask the Security Council President what plans there are for the Council.

As for the Secretary-General, as you know, we just issued the statement here and in terms of dispatching his envoy, we’ll look into that, but I have not heard anything as of right now.

Question:  We were told yesterday that the OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] is investigating Mr. [Alexander] Yakovlev [of the procurement division].  Since the new head of OIOS is not here yet, who is handling that investigation?

Associate Spokesperson:  Well, there is an Officer-in-Charge of the OIOS.

Question:  Who is that?

Associate Spokesperson:  I believe it’s Barbara Dixon, but let me double-check.

Question:  What is the scope of the investigation?  Is it focused only on him and his son and their dealings, or is it a broader investigation?  What’s the scope?

Associate Spokesperson:  What do you mean by a broader investigation?

Question:  What is the investigation of Mr. Yakovlev about?

Associate Spokesperson:  I think we have nothing further than what we reported to you yesterday at the briefing, in terms of looking into the allegations of this particular employee with regards to allegations of seeking an internship for his offspring.  That’s the extent of my understanding as of now.

Question:  When can we expect a report on this investigation?

Associate Spokesperson:  I don’t know.

Question:  What about Mr. Yakovlev himself?  What’s his status?  During this investigation, does he carry on his job as usual?  Is he suspended?  What’s his status?

Associate Spokesperson:  He is not suspended.

Question:  So he’s working [inaudible]?

Associate Spokesperson:  That’s my understanding, but I can check.  Any other questions?

If not, Jan Egeland will be at the stakeout to let you know more about his briefing today.  Thank you very much and have a good afternoon.

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